Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Happy Hump Day!

I think (or I hope) I am finally over this coughing cold. Now I am just extremely sore all around my core, but when you think about it, coughing for 2 days + no food + straight to bed after work, I am sure my body is feeling terrible. Had I been smarter, or known I was going to get this sore, I would've done some stretches and exercises. But Alas, I didn't.

Everyone at the office thinks I need to go to Urgent Care... I don't want to do that, because I do feel I am over this cold. I know I am no doctor, but I'd also like to think my body is stronger than just a coughing fit. And last time I pretty much braved out of bronchitis (after coughing for 1.5wks straight) and was just given 3 antibiotics and some OTC cough med. But my coughing has reduced significantly since this morning, which is great, because it hurts when I cough!

On another topic, my rear passenger side tire has been getting deflated on and off since we changed the rims... so I finally took it to the tire place here in town. They said they'd let me know by noon whether they can fix it or not, but here we are 2hrs in and no call. Guess no calls is a good thing, when it comes to car issues? I also told them I was in no hurry, since I am picking up my car at 3pm. Maybe they just forgot about me. Hope it isn't too expensive.

As far as taxes are concerned... last year I did them for free through H&R block's online site. They ran a special where you could do your taxes free if your income was under $51k, which mine was. They don't seem to be running that special, at least not yet, so I will wait another week or so and see if they feel like running it. If not, I'll just do it with Turbo Tax. As it looks like, I owe $25 federal, and I'm getting a $30 state refund. Net $5! Woo hoo! Beats last year and the year prior, where I had to pay $1k-2k in taxes.

I don't know if any of my readers is familiar with tax laws and what not, but if I go with the standard deduction, I can't claim taxes paid last year? I read somewhere that if you paid taxes last year, you can claim them on your return... but I cant find no info outside of Schedule A listing, which only applies if you go for itemized deductions.

13 comments:

That's correct. The standard deduction for 2013 is $6,100. You may wish to itemize (Schedule A) if your qualifying deductions add up to more than that (medical, state taxes, RE taxes, PP taxes, Mortgage interest, charity, etc.). In other words, the State taxes you paid in 2013 (meaning your withholding, your 2012 balance due and any estimated tax payments you may have made) qualify as an itemized deduction. However, it is only a deduction if you itemize and you don't want to itemize if the sum of all of your qualifying deductions is less than the $6,100 standard. (Pretty hard to meet if you don't six figures or own a house).

If you have more than the standard deduction for a single in these areas.....taxes(state, local, property, personal property, real estate), mortgage points and/or interest, medical payments OOP(that insurance didn't cover)over a certain percentage of your entire income, charitable contributions(both cash or in gifts of items-their value). Add it all up and if it comes out MORE than your Stand. deduct. itemize.I wonder if there is some way to deduct the cost of your HR certification exam....continuing education expense to keep abreast in your job or something? I'd check into that too.

Right since you are single it's better to go with standard deduction than to itemize. You don't have a mortgage correct? If your state taxes paid are higher than st. deduction then look into itemizing. Here in TX we can deduct sales taxes since we don't have a state income tax.

Only $5!? That's amazing, they say you are doing it correctly, you don't lend the government your money for free BUT I rather pay more to uncle sam and get a refund than to owe.

Why did you end up paying so much in previous years? $5 is better than nothing, right? :)We are still short of one 1099 but with all the random income we had last year, we are keeping fingers crossed we'll break even. I really don't want to pay...

Hope they can fix your tire Tanner! I think bronchitis is what I had for 2 weeks over Christmas. I don't it's good to take a lot of antibiotics as then our bodies become immune to them. I toughed it out and got through it ok. Can't help you with tax info, sorry!

You're actually doing pretty good to get such a small refund. I got a biggish refund, but only because I make so little money, so that's bad. I got the earned income credit and all my taxes back for being such a poor person. Not good. But at least it's a start to an emergency fund.

I use TurboTax, and have since about 2000. Even since starting my own business in 2008, I've never had a red flag. I like their interface, and even when I had an online issue last year, they fixed it in minutes.

I am NOT a tax expert, but I read up on what I need to file, etc. and usually get a $coupleK state and fed combined refund. I know I should be closer like you are, but sometimes, I give more to charity, or have other unexpected things that give me more back. Whew. I've never paid extra.

Don't not go to the doctor just 'cos you think you're getting better. I used to wait until I had three things wrong to go but sometimes, you've just got to do it. Main symptoms for the type of cold (using cold as a catch-all for all kinds of coughing-type illnesses here) that requires anti-biotics are green or yellow phlegm (coughing up or coming out of your nose, doesn't matter) and/or a fever. Unless it's a raging fever it can be hard to tell unless you take your temperature every day and know what's normal for you so I'd really recommend getting into that habit. At the very least continue to take it a bit easy for a while. If you don't want to go to the doctor, perhaps you could at least get some advice from a pharmacist?